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Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Law - More on: How paint companies lost a multi-billion dollar lead paint suit
Updating this ILB entry from Sunday is this AP story today headlined "State's Contract With Outside Attorneys Unconstitutional, Say Lead Paint Industry Lawyers." Some quotes:
Former makers of lead paint went before the Rhode Island Supreme Court on Monday to prevent the state from honoring a contract with its private lawyers that is potentially worth tens of millions of dollars. * * *The attorney general's office hired two private law firms to press the suit, which it filed in 1999. It agreed to pay the outside lawyers more than 16 percent of whatever the state received if it won the case.
On Monday, a lawyer for the industry told justices the contract was unconstitutional because it gave outside lawyers a financial interest in the outcome of the case. Attorney John Tarantino said defendants have the right to know that lawyers representing the government do not stand to gain financially from the case.
He said the attorney general's office would not be able to give bonuses to its staff after a major victory and that outside law firms should be barred from receiving a similar reward.
Assistant Attorney General Neil Kelly argued that the attorney general's office, with limited resources, must depend on outside help in such a massive lawsuit. He said if the state was not allowed to strike such deals with private law firms, it would be hamstrung if it wanted to sue an industry with deep pockets.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 5, 2006 08:18 AM
Posted to General Law Related